2013 Starbird-Devlin Car Show

The 2013 Starbird-Devlin Car Show took place at the main hall of the Century II Convention Center in downtown, Wichita, KS this year. Made famous when customizer Darryl Starbird started the show 56 years ago in Wichita, Kansas, the event has recently changed ownership and become a charity based show, with 100-percent of the proceeds going to three local charities: The ARC of Sedgwick County, Starkey, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas.

This will be Cars for Charities second year of full operations after purchasing the show from Starbird in 2011. The non-profit was founded by five local businessmen and car lovers (Tim and Tom Devlin, Dick Price, plus Carl and John Fry).
Cars for Charities had three goals after taking the show over; make it affordable for families, bring in great cars, and to help deserving local charities. In their first year of operation, they were able to accomplish all three goals. They lowered the price of admission ($12-Adults, $6-Juniors, Free for 11 and under), the show winners included that year’s Ridler award winner, and they gave $75,000 to the three charities.

However Cars for Charities felt like they could do more in terms of bringing in good cars, and this year’s grouping included Bruce Ricks’ latest creation: a yellow ‘32 built by Dave Lane, and Garry and Dania Crawford’s ’40 Chevy (featured on STREET RODDER’s February 2013 cover).
The show’s board of directors visited large car shows around the country and invited cars to compete in the Magnificent 7 Best of Show competition. At this year’s show they had 10 times the amount of cars signed up to compete for this competition then they had the previous year, and cars competing for the Magnificent 7 award must be of a first-time-shown status. More than 500 cars can fit into Wichita’s Century II Convention Center.

This year's charity donations split over $83,000 into the three charities, which is 10-percent increase over last year (plus the attendance increased 25-percent, too).

In addition to attracting the country’s top cars, the show also has a free kid’s zone where children can build a model, have their faces painted, do a scavenger hunt, play games, attend special programs by local police and fire departments, watch magic shows, and more.
Next to the kid’s zone is a model car and bicycle competition, which producers feel promotes custom car building at a young age. Friday night had live entertainment and Saturday night featured family-style entertainment.

Organizers felt with the show having 56 years of history in the Wichita area behind it, it was well worth preserving, plus the added benefit of it generating needed donations to charity, and they feel there is no greater reason to have a car show than to do it for charity.
For more information on the show, Cars for Charities, and the three charities involved in the show on the www.starbirddevlin.com website.

The main hall of the Century II Convention Center in downtown, Wichita, KS, is the site for the 2013 Starbird-Devlin Car Show.

2/23

Tony and Tammy Ray came all the way from Dahlonega, GA, to display their ‘33 Ford. Back in 2010, this car won the Don Ridler Memorial Award at the Detroit Autorama and, in person, words cannot describe the all-out detail that was put into this Ford.

3/23

Robbie Parker brought out this heavily customized '50 Chevy made into a roadster pickup. Up front the 261 Stovebolt engine is force fed by a creatively-placed turbo.

4/23

There is nothing like seeing a chopped, flamed, and slammed ’50 Merc like this to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Ross and Anna Rodenbeck knocked this one out of the block when they drove in their leadsled into the show.

5/23

Estel Landreth showed up with this stylish ’57 Bel Air. The tropical Turquoise and India Ivory paint really made this car stand out in the crowd.

This ’64 Lincoln convertible owned by Steve Thompson gives new meaning to being cool. With its RideTech suspension and 22-inch Budnik wheels, the stance was something that kept drawing you in.

8/23

With this drop-top ’62 Vette, Bruce Ricks created a perfect G-Machine. A C-6 suspension and powerplant provides all the power and corner handling capabilities you need while big Baer brakes and meaty tires make it stop on a dime.

9/23

From the February 2013 cover of STREET RODDER is Garry and Dania Crawford’s ’40 Chevy. This street rod is not only classy, but is equipped with go-fast goodies that would make anyone envious.

10/23

A car show would not be complete without a Ford woody. Phil and Debbie Becker from Dwight, IL, brought their custom to the show sporting a DuPont Just Green paint job. Along with a supercharged Cobra motor and Schott Wheels, this woody made it presence known.

11/23

For the Becker’s, one car was not enough to bring to the show. They also displayed their ’32 Ford three-window painted with a custom mix DuPont Butterscotch. This all steel body with its ¾-inch chop radiated attitude.

12/23

Jim and Judy Lippert brought out their stunning green pearl ’67 Nova. The LS9 powerplant backed to a T-56 trany made all of us want to go out and shift this dream machine’s gears.

13/23

This classic hot-rod-styled ’34 Ford is owned by Bob and Connie Kennedy. Stuffed between its framerails is a 351 Windsor providing plenty of horsepower to shred those tires.

14/23

Vivian Pearce brought her ’30 Ford roadster in from Bentonville, AR, which, believe it or not, started out as a five-window coupe. The DuPont Iced Green and Cool Vanilla paint job gave this roadster an eye catching look.

15/23

This mean looking ’67 Nova belongs to Gary Hager, and came with a 383 stroker motor, RideTech suspension, and Wilwood brakes, just name a few of the goodies installed.

16/23

Troy Pate displayed this '33 Ford roadster, which features an all-glass body by Rat's Glass. Underneath this clean sleek hardtop body is a 302 SVO Ford motor decked out with beautiful touches to complement the car’s design.

17/23

Darryl Starbird brought out one of the famous cars he’s built: the "Big T". The car is probably more well known as being a plastic scale model sold by Monogram in the ‘60s, and many rodders can remember building the model of it.

18/23

This '48 Packard is owned by David Saidian from Wichita, KS. The Toyota black cherry tri-coat caught the eye of a lot of people and completed the cars design with great taste.

19/23

Jerry Fletcher from Mulvane, KS brought out his cool looking '27 "T" Bucket. From the Gunmetal Gray paint to the Chevy small block, the car had a unique look that made you stop and check it out.

20/23

Lonny Moore arrived with this little custom Ford truck from his collection. The all-steel body with wood accents was a great example of a cool and clean street rod.

21/23

Tasteful is one way to describe Rex & Denise Sageser's '33 Ford. From its detailed chassis by Pete and Jake's to the clean pinstripping by Ron Klyers, hats off to the Sageser's for bringing out their pride and joy.

22/23

This '39 Chevy coupe is owned by Bill and Donna Stark from Wichita, KS. The eye-catching House of Kolor tangerine orange paint and meaty rear wheel setup gave this slick custom an aggressive stance even while sitting still.